Tag Archives: a-little-bit

Trump’s New NASA Head Announces Plans to Send Troops to Space

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President-elect Donald Trump's pick for NASA administrator billionaire SpaceX tourist Jared Isaacman wants to send troops into space.

Space Soldiers

President-elect Donald Trump's pick for NASA administrator billionaire SpaceX tourist Jared Isaacman wants to send soldiers into space.

During the Space Force Association’s Spacepower 2024 conference in Orlando, Florida, Isaacman argued that troops in space are "absolutely inevitable."

"If Americans are in low Earth orbit, there’s going to need to be people watching out for them," he said, as quoted by the Independent.

"This is the trajectory that humankind is going to follow," he added. "America is going to lead it and we’re going to need guardians there on the high ground looking out for us."

Star Wars Kid

Isaacman's comments are eyebrow-raising for a number of reasons. Do US astronauts really need armed bodyguards in space? What exactly will these space troops do once they reach space? Will these troops be Space Force "Guardians" — who aren't trained to be astronauts — or will the Pentagon send troops from a different military branch?

Besides, where will they stay? With the retirement of the International Space Station in 2030, the Pentagon will also have a hard time coming by accommodations for armed forces in orbit.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Isaacman had few details to share regarding his plans to send troops into space, let alone how much such an initiative would cost. He did hint at the possibility of sending soldiers into space around the time NASA hopes to settle on the surface of the Moon, according to the Independent.

Isaacman also said he's hoping to turn outer space into an economic opportunity.

"Space holds unparalleled potential for breakthroughs in manufacturing, biotechnology, mining, and perhaps even pathways to new sources of energy," he told audiences during the conference. "There will inevitably be a thriving space economy — one that will create opportunities for countless people to live and work in space."

The tech entrepreneur has been to space twice over the last three years, both times on board SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft.

But given his new desk job in Washington, DC, Isaacman may have to give up on future opportunities to visit space as part of the Polaris program he organized.

"The future of the Polaris program is a little bit of a question mark at the moment," Isaacman admitted at the event, as quoted by Reuters. "It may wind up on hold for a little bit."

More on Isaacman: The New Head of NASA Had an Interesting Disagreement with the Space Agency

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Trump's New NASA Head Announces Plans to Send Troops to Space

Stranded Boeing Astronaut Forced to Slum It in a Sleeping Bag by Himself

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Those tranded Boeing Starliner astronauts are apparently being forced to deal with some pretty undignified living standards. 

Bag and Tag

More than two months into what was supposed to be a week-long journey, the stranded NASA astronauts who hitched a ride to the International Space Station on board Boeing's doomed Starliner spacecraft are apparently being forced to deal with some pretty undignified living standards.

As Time notes, the space station was already occupied by seven astronauts before NASA's Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams arrived via the Starliner in early June.

Because the Boeing-built craft immediately sprung several helium leaks during its journey to the station, the pair are now stuck on board the ISS indefinitely — and as they previously told the magazine, that means they're not exactly sleeping in style.

Williams seems to have gotten the better end of the deal by spending the last two months camped out on board the space station's Crew Alternate Sleep Accommodation (CASA) sleep chamber with another of the extra astronauts hanging out on board the European Space Agency-built Columbus module.

Wilmore, however, has been forced to contend with a sleeping bag in the Japanese Space Agency's Kibo module.

"Butch is going to have to rough it a little bit," Williams told Time back in May when she and her copilot thought they'd only be slumming it for a mere eight days.

No Scrubs

It sounds less than ideal — but as the report notes, Williams and Wilmore's difficulties don't end with their sleeping arrangements.

As with every ISS mission, the Starliner astronauts initially had specific jobs to do on board the station that would have eaten up their eight-day journey. As Time reports, their main priority was checking in on the Boeing capsule and making sure its communications, life support, and other essential functions were in good shape.

With that checklist done and their journey having been extended until possibly February due to Starliner's technical issues, Wilmore and Williams have instead been assisting their fellow crew members with their tasks and experiments, including repairing a urine processing pump.

Beyond that lovely job, Wilmore and Williams were also forced to stretch their clothing rations because there's no laundry on board the ISS. Generally speaking, astronauts pack enough clothes for the length of their journey, and with their trip home having been pushed back repeatedly, the Starliner crew had to make do until a Northrop Grumman resupply mission finally came to deliver them new clothes earlier this month.

There was never much dignity to life on board the ISS, to begin with — and now that they're stranded there, Williams and Wilmore are likely feeling the burn of Boeing's shoddy Starliner work.

More on Starliner: NASA Clown Car Plan Would Stuff Extra Astronauts Into SpaceX Capsule to Avoid Return Journey in Disastrous Boeing Starliner

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Stranded Boeing Astronaut Forced to Slum It in a Sleeping Bag by Himself